Homecoming
by Darqstar
Summary: Every year, Gambit and Siku spend one special day together. Now that Siku is four, she learns what this day is all about.


_Mainstream X-S_

Homecoming

[Darqstar][1]

  


  


  


"Petite chere? Where are you?" Remy LeBeau called, as he walked into the rec. room.

Four-year-old Siku looked up from the book she was struggling to read, _Curious George Goes To The Hospital. _At her insistence, her father was attempting to teach her to read, but it still was not easy yet. And this book had some hard words in it. 

"Unca Remy!" She looked at him, her head tipped to one side, a blue curl falling across her forehead. 

"Dere you are." Remy smiled. "I been lookin' all over for you." 

She smiled, putting down the book. "Well, you found me!"

"An' so I did." He walked over and scooped her up off the couch, hugging her. "I hope you not busy."

She shook her head. "I was just tryin' t'read. Unca Remy, it's hard." 

"I know," he said, nodding in sympathy as she returned his hug. "Not'ing dat important ever come easy. But you suppose you could take a break?"

She nodded. "Why?"

"Cause dis is a very special day, Little One. An' I wan'- non, I _have_ to spend it wit' you." 

Siku's brows furrowed in puzzlement. "Why is today 'pecial?" she asked.

"Cause it is," Gambit said, sounding almost mysterious. "It's our day, little one. You an' me gonna spend it together."

"Doing what?" Her eyes began to sparkle at the prospect of a day filled with fun. Uncle Remy was an adult, but he could be just like a kid, if he wanted to be. 

"Whatever you want." He held her out at arm's length, swinging her around easily, as she giggled. "De important t'ing is dat dis day is special." 

They went to the zoo first. Siku wasn't too crazy about most of the zoo; the animals in their cages depressed her. But she did love the petting zoo. The young farm animals in the penned area never seemed as sad as the lions and tigers and caged animals. They seemed to like being there, and being petted. Siku had a wonderful time, petting and talking to every animal in the area. 

Since adults were not allowed in the actual pens, Remy leaned against the fence, keeping an eye on her as she walked around, pausing from animal to animal, to pet them and talk to them. He smiled, listening as she told a lamb how much she liked to pet his wooly coat, and when she scolded a young goat for trying to butt the lamb out of the way. 

When they had enough of the petting zoo, Remy lifted her out of the pen and put her on his shoulders. She loved that, riding high above everyone else, able to see everything and giggled in delight. People stopped and stared at this odd couple, making their way out of the zoo. 

"Unca Remy, why do people look at us?" Siku asked.

"Cause dey jealous." Remy answered promptly. 

"Jealous?" Siku repeated the unfamiliar word.

Gambit nodded, pausing and tipping his head back to look at her. "Jealous mean to wish you had somet'in someone else had, or to want to be someone you aren't."

"Jealous," she repeated the word. "You _worded_ me!" Being "worded" was one of Sikudhani's favorite games.

"So I did." He continued walking.

She repeated the word a few more times, to make sure she would remember it, then frowned. "Why are they… jealous?"

"Because dey wish dey were us," Remy answered. "De kids all wish dey were here wit' such a wonderful uncle like me and de adults all wish dey were walking 'round with a special, pretty little girl like you."

She frowned, puzzling this out for a moment, then smiled up at him. If uncle Remy said that was the reason, then it _must_ be it. 

He took her to the gift shop, where he allowed her to pick out one thing, but it could be anything she wanted. It was a tough decision, but she finally settled for a small, but very cuddly stuffed snow leopard. Remy took the tag with the price off the stuffed animal and gave that to the woman behind the counter, so Siku could keep holding her new friend. 

"What you gonna name him?" he asked, as they left the shop.

"It's not a him, it's a her," Siku corrected him. "And _her_ name is Snow." 

"Good name. It suits her." Remy knew better than to argue over the alleged sex of the stuffed animal. Siku decided it was female, therefore, it was female. She had a huge variety of stuffed animals at home and she knew the sex of every one, along with other "facts" no one else did. 

After the zoo, they went to play miniature golf. Although Siku wasn't very good at it, she loved the miniature houses and buildings that dotted the landscape. She also loved to chase the bright red ball after Gambit had hit it, which meant his score was not anywhere near par, but it didn't matter. This wasn't about scoring; it was about having fun. 

It was late afternoon when they finished with miniature golf. "I don' know 'bout you, Siku, but I'm getting hungry."

"Me too!" Siku eagerly agreed. "I'm hungry!"

Remy looked at his watch. Five o'clock. They had plenty of time to get something to eat and still make it home before her bedtime. "What you feel like eating, Little One?"

Siku thought carefully before answering. "Fish!"

He chuckled. "I should have guessed." Siku's love of seafood was already notorious around the X-Folks. "Siku, have you ever had lobster?"

She shook her head. "Daddy says I won't like it until I'm older." 

He tried not to laugh, having a feeling that Hank's assessment of her opinion on lobster had more to do with the bother of preparing it for her, than his concern for her taste buds. "Well, your daddy might be wrong on dat. Wanna give it a try?"

She thought for a moment. "Okay."

They went to a seafood restaurant he knew of. It was not a fancy place, but the food was good, and the prices reasonable. Most important, it wasn't the type of place where people would be overly alarmed, watching a young child ripping into a lobster, possibly getting butter and water all over the place. Siku being blue and furry might raise enough eyebrows, but they could deal with that.

When they walked inside, one of the waitresses came over. "Remy LeBeau, it's been ages!"

He grinned. "Non, Ruby, it's been a month at the most." 

"Well, a month is too long," she scolded, grinning to take the sting out of it. 

Siku looked at the waitress. Long hair, neatly tied back, pretty face, curvy body. What _was_ it with uncle Remy and women? "Hi."

The waitress looked down. "Well, who is this?"

Gambit scooped her up. "Dis is Siku, my niece. De prettiest little girl in de world."

"I see." Ruby nodded, looking at her. "You have gorgeous eyes, Siku. They're bluer than blue."

"Thank you," Siku said, although she wondered how her eyes could be bluer than blue. Nothing could be more of something than it already was, could it? 

Ruby led them to a small table and got a booster seat for Siku, so she could reach the table. "Can I get you something to drink?" she asked.

Gambit nodded. "A coke for me an' a big glass of milk for Siku. The biggest you have."

Siku grinned. She liked milk. 

"We know what we want to eat, too," Remy said. When Ruby pulled out her pen and pad, to indicate she was ready, he continued, "We want two boiled lobsters an' a big plate of French fries." He smiled.

"Unca Remy?" Siku interrupted. "What about a green vegetable?"

Remy nodded, knowing what a stickler Hank was on Siku having a proper diet. "You right." He looked at Ruby. "An' two salads. One with oil an' vinegar, de other wit-" He looked over at Siku.

"Ranch!"

"Ranch dressing." 

Ruby nodded. "I'll bring the salads and drinks right away." 

The salads and drinks came shortly. Within minutes of finishing the salads, the lobster and fries came out. Siku studied her lobster with great interest, as Remy tied a plastic bib around her neck. "Unca Remy, I'm not a baby, I don' need a bib," she reminded him.

"Everyone wear a one wit' lobster, even adults." Remy explained. "Look around."

She did, noting that there were indeed, many adults wearing plastic bibs with pictures of lobsters on them. "Why?"

"Because lobsters are messy." He went over to his seat, and tired his own bib around his neck. Normally, he would not have bothered, but he knew if he did not, Siku would insist on taking hers off. "People don' want to ruin their clothes. Do you wan' me to help you wit' yours?"

"Yes, please."

He cracked the shell for her, and took out the meat. Upon her first bite, she concluded that her father had been gravely wrong. She liked lobster; she liked it a lot. The only thing she would not touch was the green stuff, it looked too icky. Uncle Remy confessed to her that he didn't eat that part either, so it was okay.

Ruby returned when they were done to clear their plates. "Any desert tonight?" she asked.

Gambit shook his head. "Non, I t'ink we're all set." He looked at Siku.

"I'm full," the child declared. 

He was glad to hear that. Siku was not allowed much sugar in her diet, and he doubted this place had any sort of desert without it. "We'll jus' take de check now."

Ruby nodded, tearing the check off her pad and putting it down on the table. "I'll take that when you're ready. She turned to leave, then stopped. "Forgive me, if this is none of my business, but I was wondering where your friend was tonight? The one you usually come in?"

"Rogue?" Remy shrugged. "I'm sure we'll be in together, soon, but today is special. Today is between me an' my niece." 

Ruby nodded. "Well, tell her I said, hello. I always liked her."

"She like you too, Chere. I give her de message."

When Ruby left, Siku looked at Remy, her head tipped to the side, her brows furrowed. "Unca Remy, why is today special?"

"Well…" He looked briefly at the check, then took out his wallet and put some bills on top of it. "You might not remember dis, but every year, on de same day, we go out somewhere, jus' you an me. De same day every year, too."

Her brows furrowed. She and Uncle Remy did things together a lot, but she didn't realize they had one special day, every year, set aside for the purpose. "Why this day?"

He smiled. "Because four years ago, somet'in very special happened on dis day." He got up to leave, walking over, helping her out of her chair.

"What was that?" she asked, as they started out the door.

He smiled. "Four years ago, on dis day… I brought you home."

"Really?" He eyes lit up. "This very day?"

He nodded. "Although it wasn't really day, it was night. But I know your daddy wants you home at night."

They walked out to the car. He helped her into her car seat, buckling her in. "Unca Remy?"

"What, Petite chere?" 

"Why do we go out alone, on this day?" she asked. "Why don't we take some of the others, or Daddy?"

He smiled. "We could, if you really wanted to, but I like to keep it between de two of us."

"Why?"

He cupped his hand under her chin, looking into her eyes. "Because, little one, I was de first person to see you in de family. I was de first to hold you. I knew, when I first set eyes on you, dat you belonged wit' Hank, but for those few hours, as I was bringing you home, you belonged to me. You were my little girl, for that time. So, every year, I want to spend time wit' you, alone. For dis one day, at least until I take you home, you're _my_ little girl." 

She looked at him, her eyes round circles of blue. "Unca Remy, I'm always your little girl. I can be your little girl an' daddy's too."

"I know." He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "You're very special, Sikudhani McCoy. An' don' ever forget it."

"I won't." She smiled. "I love you, Unca Remy."

"I love you too."

He drove home slowly, taking the scenic route. When he returned to the mansion, he helped her out of the car seat, and carried her inside. Hank was in the living room. He walked over to him, kissed Siku on the forehead again, and handed her over to Hank. "I brought her home."

Hank took her, putting his arms around her. "So you have," he said, smiling. "Just as you did, four years ago."

The End.

  


  


  


   [1]: /~darqstar/authors/darqstar/index.htm



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